Deer Collision Season in Alaska

Q: What are the odds of hitting a deer in Alaska?

1 in 580, according to State Farm’s 2025-2026 analysis of animal collision claims, which ranks Alaska 47th of 51 (the 50 states and the District of Columbia) and places it in the low likelihood category. The national figure is 1 in 145. That is a higher likelihood than 1 in 661 in the 2024-2025 edition.

Q: How many fatal animal crashes happen in Alaska?

14 from 2015 to 2024, about 1.4 a year, with 15 deaths, according to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. That is 2.1 percent of all fatal crashes in the state, and 38th among the 50 states by count. FARS counts crashes with any animal, not deer alone.

Q: When are deer collisions most common in Alaska?

Nationally, State Farm names November, October and December as the peak months for large animal collisions. September is the month with the most fatal animal crashes in Alaska, 3 of 14 across the ten years. The deer rut in Alaska peaks late November.

Q: When is the deer rut in Alaska?

The deer rut in Alaska peaks late November. That is the timing the Alaska Department of Fish and Game publishes, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ties the autumn collision peak to the rut, when deer are most active.

Q: How much earlier does it get dark after the clock change in Alaska?

About an hour. On November 7, 2027, sunset in Anchorage moves from 5:44 PM on the Saturday to 4:42 PM on the Sunday, computed with the U.S. Naval Observatory method.

Q: What time of day do animal crashes happen in Alaska?

Mostly after dark. Of Alaska’s 14 fatal animal crashes from 2015 to 2024, 79 percent happened in the dark and 7.1 percent at dusk or dawn, and 15 percent happened between 5 PM and midnight.

1 in 580 odds of an animal collision claim, 47th of 51 in State Farm’s 2025-2026 ranking. Moose are the large animal on Alaska roads, especially around Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, with Sitka black-tailed deer in the southeast.

Odds of a claim

1 in 580

State Farm rank

47 of 51

Likelihood category

Low

The odds

Odds of hitting a deer in Alaska

1 in 580, from State Farm’s analysis of industry animal collision claims between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. That ranks Alaska 47th of 51 (the 50 states and the District of Columbia), in the low likelihood category, against a national figure of 1 in 145. That is a higher likelihood than 1 in 661 in the 2024-2025 edition.

Source: State Farm, How likely are you to have an animal collision? (2025-2026). Compiled 2026-09-21.

When in the year

Fatal animal crashes in Alaska by month

NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System recorded 14 fatal animal crashes in Alaska from 2015 to 2024, about 1.4 a year, with 15 deaths. That is 2.1 percent of all fatal crashes in the state and 38th among the states by count. September is the month with the most fatal animal crashes in Alaska, 3 of 14 across the ten years. FARS counts crashes with any animal; the insurance claim season, October to December, is shaded.

Fatal animal crashes by month, Alaska, 2015 to 2024, 14 in all. Any animal, not deer alone. Shaded: October to December, the months insurance claims for animal collisions peak. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), first harmful event Live Animal, 2015 to 2024. Compiled 2026-09-21.

The rut

When the deer rut runs in Alaska

The deer rut in Alaska peaks late November.

Source: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sitka black-tailed deer species profile.

The clock change

Sunset in Anchorage when the clocks fall back

On November 7, 2027, clocks fall back an hour and sunset in Anchorage moves from 5:44 PM to 4:42 PM, putting the evening drive home in dusk and darkness.

Sunset the day before5:44 PM

Sunset on November 74:42 PM

Anchorage, 63 minutes earlier by the clock.

A white-tailed doe half hidden among young spruce and bare trunks in snowy woods, looking straight out — A white-tailed deer watching from the tree line along a road in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Photo by Courtney Celley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “White-tailed deer (54250118546)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

Clock change: Uniform Time Act, 15 U.S.C. 260a, and 49 CFR part 71. Sunset calculated for Anchorage and checked against the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department.

In their words

What state agencies tell drivers

“If you cannot avoid hitting a deer with your vehicle, brake firmly and stay in your lane. Avoid sudden swerving, which can result in a loss of control and a more serious crash.”

Wisconsin Department of Transportation, quoted exactly.

“If a deer runs in front of you, do not swerve. Brake firmly and stay in your lane.”

Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security / Tennessee Highway Patrol, quoted exactly.

“Don’t swerve to avoid hitting a deer. Swerving can cause motorists to lose control and travel off the road or into oncoming traffic.”

Missouri Department of Transportation, quoted exactly.

Questions people ask about deer collisions in Alaska

What are the odds of hitting a deer in Alaska?

How many fatal animal crashes happen in Alaska?

When are deer collisions most common in Alaska?

When is the deer rut in Alaska?

How much earlier does it get dark after the clock change in Alaska?

What time of day do animal crashes happen in Alaska?

Which large animals share the road in Alaska?

Fatal animal crash counts compiled 2026-09-21 from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). State Farm odds, agency counts and quotes compiled 2026-09-21 from the pages linked above, quoted exactly.

Deer rut in AlaskaWhen bucks chase does, the reason deer cross roads in daylight in November.Deer season in AlaskaThe hunting season dates, which overlap the collision peak and keep deer moving.Daylight in AlaskaSunrise and sunset in Anchorage through the year, and the clock change.Deer collision season, every stateOdds, fatal animal crashes by month and hour, and the national picture.